RMC Découverte apologizes after nuclear simulation targets Tel Aviv

The French television channel RMC Découverte has issued a public apology and removed a documentary from all its platforms after a 3D simulation mistakenly depicted Tel Aviv as the target of a nuclear strike.

The documentary, titled ‘Le nouveau Rafale, drones et canons : la révolution de l’armement français’, aired on September 1. It was intended to illustrate the future of French weaponry, specifically a demonstration of a nuclear missile launch designed for the future Rafale fighter jet. The animation showed a high-altitude flight followed by a nuclear explosion over a coastal city.

Héloïse Fayet, a nuclear specialist at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), identified the city in the animation as Tel Aviv and alerted the network. The controversy gained significant traction on social media after the sequence was shared by the Israeli ambassador, prompting the channel to issue its apology approximately seventeen days after the initial broadcast.